Folding stock for firearms.



'W. L. MARBLE.- FOLDING STOCK r011 FIREARMS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 10. 1909.

Patented June 14,- 1910.

,maazw B. GRAHAM c0 PHOTO L momuwzwa wasmucrou, D- c "UNITED sTATEs' PATENT t me.

WEBSTER L. MARBLE, OF GLADSTONE, MICHIGAN.

FOLDING STOCK FOR FIREARMS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 14, 1910,

Application filed May 10, 1909.

Serial No. 495,153.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, WEBSTER L. MARBLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gladstone, in the county of Delta and State of Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements in Folding Stocks for Firearms, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to firearms, and its object is to provide an improved 'foldmg stock, which, while permanently attached to available in this line. 7 r

The invention consists in a folding stock combined with a detent which acts to lock it in its extended position, said detent having a thumb piece by means of which it can be tripped when the stock is to be folded. The stock is also provided with an improved adj ustable stop, whereby the angular position of the stock can be varied with reference to the barrel, and said stop is furnished with a graduated scale, so that it can be set at a predetermined position with great accuracy, and restored to that position in case of disarrangement of the stop.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a small gun equipped with my improved folding stock. Flg. 1s a side elevation of the handle with one side plate removed and the frame partly broken away, and Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section on the line 33, Fig. 2.

The weapon shown is a small double barreled gun for the use of sportsmen, tourlsts, automobilists, campers and the like, having a pistol or grip handle 1 whose metal frame 2 is slotted lengthwise to admit the knuckle 3 of the stock 1. I have illustrated a skeleton stock, composed of upper and lower reaches 5, 6, fastened to a butt plate 7 and secured also to the two legs 8 extending from the knuckle 3. A spring washer 9 bears against one side of the knuckle, which is made flat to fit between the sides of the frame, and is circular in outline concentrlc with the pivot screw 10. A certam portlon of the periphery of the knuckle is formed with one or more indentations or ratchet teeth 11, and a detent is provided to engage therewith, preferably the pawl 12, pivoted in the frame 2 at 13, and urged downwardly against the periphery of the knuckle by a spring 14. The pawl has a thumb piece 15 projecting perferably in front of the frame, so that said pawl can be readily lifted out of its engagement with the teeth 11.

The upper edge of the upper leg 8 approaches the upper end of the slot in the frame of the handle when the stock is extended, and in order to vary the angular position of the stock I provide an adjustable stop at this point, consisting preferably of a slide 16 resting on said leg and projecting into the slot in the frame. A portion of this slide is provided with teeth 17, and a sleeve 18, having internal screwthreads meshing with said teeth, surrounds the leg and abuts between a shoulder thereon and the end of the upper reach of the stock. By revolving this sleeve, the slide will be caused to travel to and fro along the leg 8, and thus project more or less into the slot in the handle. The slide preferably has a rounded head whose position determines the point at which the stock will come to a stop, when said head strikes the end of the slot in the handle. On the slide and leg are graduations, as shown, whereby the slide can be accurately set for any predetermined angle, and by means of which it can be readily re-set in case it gets disarranged in handling the gun.

In extending the stock, it is only necessary to turn it from the folded position, indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, to the position shown in full lines in said figure. The teeth 11 slip easily under the pawl when the knuckle is turned in this direction, but resist any effort to turn the stock back again, so that it will remain firmly locked in the operative position, and affords a rigid support when the gun is fired. To fold the stock, the thumb piece 15 is pressed upward, disengaging the pawl from the teeth 11 and leaving the stock free to be turned back to the folded position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is l. The combination with a firearm having a grip handle provided with a lengthwise slot extending through said handle from front to rear, of a rigid stock having a circular knuckle pivoted in said slot and having indentations in its periphery, and a spring pawl pivoted in the .upper end of said slot and adapted to engage with said indentations.

2. The combination with a firearm having a grip handle provided with a lengthwise slot extending through said handle from front to rear, of a rigid stock having a circular knuckle pivoted in said slot and having indentations in its periphery, a spring washer between the side'of said knuckle and one wall of said slot, and a spring pawl pivoted in the upper end of said slot and adapted to engage with said indentations and projecting beyond the frame of said handle.

3, The combination with a firearm having a grip handle, of a rigid stock pivoted in said handle so that said stock may be folded in under the barrel, a stop for determining the angular position of said stock with reference to said handle, and graduations on said stock for enabling it to be returned to a predetermined position after it has been folded.

4. The combination with a firearm having a grip handle provided with a lengthwise slot, ofa rigid stock pivoted in said slot, a slide on said stock, provided with teeth, and a screw-threaded sleeve revoluble on said stock and meshing with said teeth.

5. The combination with a firearm having a grip handle provided with a lengthwise slot, of a rigid stock having a knuckle pivoted in said slot and provided with legs, a slide resting on the upper leg with one end in said slot, teeth on said slide, and a screwthreaded sleeve revoluble on said leg and meshing with said teeth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WEBSTER L. MARBLE.

Witnesses MABEL M. JERRETT, CLAUDE E. HAWKINS. 

